Xu plays up organizational, logistical skills

It was simple curiosity that led Anne Xu ’09 to become a liaison for the UOFC this year. After encountering financial difficulties with the Yale Classical Society, which she founded, Xu began to wonder how the UOFC really worked.

“I was shocked by the basic logistical things that were not being done,” she said.

Providing organizations with funds in a timely manner and setting a clear agenda are among the things that Xu thinks the UOFC can do to improve. A junior in Calhoun College, she thinks her organizational skills and her dedication will make her ideally suited to the position of UOFC chair.

“I understand that signing a check will affect the whole membership of an organization,” Xu said.

In the past, getting checks signed has not been easy for organizations receiving UOFC funds, she said. Xu said she hopes to expand the one hour per week treasurers have to meet with the chair and also to work with the dean’s office to establish direct deposit for organizations receiving funds. She wants above all, she said, to return the UOFC to its fundamental responsibility: disseminating funds.

“Most people spend more time on special projects,” Xu said. “But we’re letting organizations down by being so focused on those projects.”

The special projects Xu has in mind include the $2,000 and $5,000 events for which any group can apply, which have previously produced less-than-successful events, like last fall’s Cirque du Monde, she said. In a case in which none of the projects seems likely to succeed, Xu proposes that the UOFC reserve the right to withhold funding. She would also like to expand the new capital-equipment program, which provides things like spotlights to groups hosting events with UOFC funds.